Indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus

ABSTRACT

An indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes: a protruding piece protruding horizontally from a decorative panel; an engagement member on a back surface of a suction panel, slidable with respect to the protruding piece in a front-and-back direction of the indoor unit, and configured to be locked to the protruding piece; plate springs, which are provided at both ends of the engagement member, and extend in directions opposite to each other to be orthogonal to a sliding direction of the engagement member; and spring support portions, formed on the suction panel, and configured to sandwich both end surfaces of each of the plate springs at different positions, in which, when the engagement member slides in a retreating direction of the engagement member by the protruding piece, the plate springs urge the engagement member toward the protruding piece with the spring support portions as supporting points.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an indoor unit of a ceiling-concealed type, which is to be installed in a space above a ceiling, and more particularly, to an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, which includes a suction panel configured to open and close an opening in a lower surface of the indoor unit.

BACKGROUND ART

Hitherto, there has been known an indoor unit of a ceiling-concealed type in which a suction panel is mounted to a decorative panel in an openable and closable manner or in a detachable manner. To prevent the design of the decorative panel from being degraded, in general, engagement members are provided at end portions of the suction panel, and the engagement members are manually moved to be locked to the decorative panel. Further, there has been given a configuration in which a spring mechanism is provided in a slide mechanism to save labor for an opening and closing operation or a mounting and removing operation, and in which an engagement member and a plate spring are formed as a single component to reduce the number of components (for example, see Patent Literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2009-299999 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

A typical decorative panel is formed of a resin material. Further, also in Patent Literature 1, the engagement members and the plate springs are each formed by molding with use of a resin material. In the case of using the resin material, there may occur variation in thermal stress, flowability, and other factors during die molding, thus leading to variation of a molded component itself and variation of a resin component. As a result, backlash between components at the time of assembling of the decorative panel is concerned. Further, influence on the durability, which is caused by stress applied to supporting point portions of the plate springs when functions of the plate springs are exhibited, is also concerned.

The present invention has been made to overcome the problem described above, and has an object to provide an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus capable of suppressing backlash at the time of assembling, which is caused due to molding variation, and capable of enhancing the durability by increasing the number of supporting points when functions of plate springs are exhibited to disperse stress.

Solution to Problem

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, including: an indoor-unit main body including a heat exchanger and a fan and having an opening formed in a lower surface of the indoor-unit main body; a decorative panel configured to cover a peripheral edge portion of the opening of the indoor-unit main body; a suction panel configured to cover an opening of the indoor-unit main body in an openable manner, the indoor unit main body being formed by the decorative panel, and having an air inlet communicating with the opening; a protruding piece protruding horizontally from the decorative panel toward the opening of the indoor-unit main body; an engagement member provided on a back surface of the suction panel at a position of being opposed to the protruding piece to be slidable with respect to the protruding piece in a front-and-back direction of the indoor unit, the engagement member being configured to be guided by the protruding piece of the decorative panel to be locked to the protruding piece; plate springs, provided at both ends in directions orthogonal to a sliding direction of the engagement member, the plate springs extending in the directions orthogonal to the sliding direction and opposite to each other; and at least two spring support portions, formed on the suction panel, and configured to sandwich both end surfaces of each of the plate springs, the two spring support portions being provided at different positions of the engagement member, wherein, each of the plate springs is configured to, when the engagement member slides in a retreating direction of the engagement member by the protruding piece, urge the engagement member toward the protruding piece with the at least two spring support portions serving as supporting points.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the plate springs, provided at both ends in a direction orthogonal to a sliding direction of the engagement member, the plate springs extending in directions opposite to each other to be orthogonal to the sliding direction; and at least two spring support portions, formed on the suction panel, and configured to sandwich both end surfaces of each of the plate springs, the two spring support portions being provided at different positions of the engagement member. As described above, the plate spring is supported by the at least two spring support portions. Thus, a load applied when the functions of the plate springs are exhibited can be dispersed. Therefore, the durability of the plate spring can be enhanced.

Further, the spring support portions are arranged in an opposing direction. With this configuration, the plate spring can be mounted under a state in which the variation in shape of the plate spring is corrected, thereby being capable of absorbing rattling of the plate spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for illustrating an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed from a lower side.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view for schematically illustrating an interior of the indoor unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for illustrating a state in which a suction grille of FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an engagement member illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member illustrated in FIG. 4 is arranged on the suction grille.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member illustrated in FIG. 5 is supported on the suction grille to be slidable.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member of FIG. 6 is retreated.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view for illustrating a positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel when the suction grille of FIG. 3 is raised up to the vicinity of the decorative panel.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view for illustrating the positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel immediately before the suction grille of FIG. 8 is closed.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view for illustrating a locking state of the engagement member and the decorative panel when the suction grille of FIG. 9 is closed.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view for illustrating the positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel when the engagement member of FIG. 10 is retreated.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view for illustrating a modification example of the engagement member of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view for illustrating the suction grille of the indoor unit in a modification example of an installation position of the engagement member of the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for illustrating an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed from a lower side. FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view for schematically illustrating an interior of the indoor unit of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for illustrating a state in which a suction grille of FIG. 1 is opened.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, an indoor unit 100 for an air-conditioning apparatus includes an indoor-unit main body 10, which receives heat exchangers 11 and a fan 12 and has an opening formed in a lower surface, a decorative panel 13 configured to cover a peripheral edge portion of the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10, and a suction panel 14 configured to cover the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10, which is formed by the decorative panel 13, in an openable manner. The indoor unit 100 is of a ceiling-concealed type in which the decorative panel 13 and the suction panel 14 are exposed from a ceiling board 200, and in which the indoor-unit main body 10 is installed on an inner side of the ceiling board 200. The indoor unit 100 is connected to an outdoor unit (not shown) by a refrigerant pipe.

The indoor-unit main body 10 is formed of sheet metal having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and having the lower surface being opened. The suction panel 14 is formed into a rectangular shape being a quadrangular shape along a longitudinal direction of the indoor-unit main body 10, and has air inlets 15 and 16 each formed to be elongated by a plurality of grilles at both ends in a transverse direction. The suction panel 14 is formed by resin molding. The decorative panel 13 is fixed to the indoor-unit main body 10. An air outlet 17 is formed in the decorative panel 13 at a portion on the air inlet 15 side of the indoor-unit main body 10. An air-direction vane 17 a configured to change a blowing direction of air is mounted to the air outlet 17.

One side of the suction panel 14 on the air inlet 16 side is supported in a turnable manner by a support shaft 20 mounted to the indoor-unit main body 10. The suction panel 14 can open and close the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10 through intermediation of the support shaft 20. Further, a pair of engagement members 30 is mounted on one side of the suction panel 14 on the air inlet 15 side. The pair of engagement members 30 is configured to keep a closing state of the suction panel 14 when the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10 is closed by the suction panel 14.

The suction panel 14 is configured to be openable and closable to enable replacement of air filters 18 a and 18 b described later and cleaning work inside the indoor-unit main body 10. The air filters 18 b and 18 a described above are removably mounted to back surfaces of the air inlets 15 and 16, and are configured to collect dust contained in air flowing into the indoor-unit main body 10 through the air inlets 15 and 16.

The fan 12 includes, for example, a turbofan arranged in an air passage 19 communicating with the air outlet 17, and a motor (not shown) installed on one side of the turbofan in an axial center direction. The heat exchangers 11 are arranged between the fan 12, and the air inlets 15 and 16, respectively, to be installed in a V-shape.

In the indoor unit 100 constructed as described above, when the fan 12 is driven, indoor air is sucked through the air inlets 15 and 16 of the suction panel 14, and passes through each of the air filters 18 a and 18 b to flow into the indoor-unit main body 10. The air flowing into the indoor-unit main body 10 is further sucked by the fan 12 to the heat exchangers 11 side and subjected to heat exchange with refrigerant flowing through the heat exchangers 11. Then, the air subjected to the heat exchange is sent into the air passage 19, and is blown out to an indoor space through the air outlet 17.

Next, configurations of the above-mentioned engagement members 30 are described with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 7. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the engagement member illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member illustrated in FIG. 4 is arranged on the suction grille. FIG. 6 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member illustrated in FIG. 5 is supported on the suction grille to be slidable. FIG. 7 is a plan view for illustrating a state in which the engagement member of FIG. 6 is retreated.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, plate springs 31 each formed into a plate shape by resin molding are fitted into the engagement member 30. The engagement member 30 includes an engagement portion 32, guide portions 33, fitting grooves 34, an operating portion 35, a pair of sliding portions 36 formed between the guide portions 33, and an elongated hole 37 formed by the pair of sliding portions 36.

The engagement portion 32 is a protrusion protruding downward from distal end portions of the guide portions 33 of the engagement member 30. The guide portions 33 protrude upward from positions of both ends on an upper surface of the engagement member 30 on a side on which the fitting grooves 34 are formed. The guide portions 33 include inclined surfaces inclined from a distal end portion opposed to a protruding piece 13 a (see FIG. 8) described later to a rear end portion side of the engagement member 30. The plate springs 31 are fitted into the fitting grooves 34, respectively. The plate springs 31 extend to be orthogonal to a sliding direction of the engagement member 30, from both ends in the direction orthogonal to the sliding direction, and in directions opposite to each other. The operating portion 35 is formed on a rear portion of the engagement member 30 to extend downward. The sliding portions 36 are each formed into a plate shape extending to a front side and a rear side of the engagement member 30, and a stepped screw 42 described later is placed on the sliding portions 36 through intermediation of a washer 43. The elongated hole 37 is formed to be elongated in a front-and-back direction of the engagement member 30, and the stepped screw 42 is inserted through the elongated hole 37.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the engagement member 30 described above is installed at a portion of the suction panel 14 on the air inlet 15 side, specifically, on a support base 40 extending from a grille 15 a located on an end portion of the air inlet 15 to an inner side of the air inlet 15. A screw hole 41 through which the stepped screw 42 described above is screwed is formed in the support base 40. The engagement member 30 is installed on the support base 40 as described above, and then, the stepped screw 42 inserted through the washer 43 is screwed through the screw hole 41. In this manner, the engagement member 30 is supported to be slidable in a longitudinal direction of the elongated hole 37.

Further, the plate springs 31 on the both ends of the engagement member 30 are each held under a state of being sandwiched between a main rib 15 b and an auxiliary rib 15 c respectively formed on the two grilles 15 d and 15 a on the end portion side among the plurality of grilles forming the air inlet 15. The main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c are spring support portions formed integrally with the grilles 15 a and 15 d by molding, and are configured to sandwich both end surfaces of the plate spring 31 at different positions. With regard to the engagement member 30 illustrated in FIG. 6, when the engagement member 30 is moved in a direction indicated by the solid arrow illustrated in FIG. 7 (retreating direction) through a manual operation with the operating portion 35, the respective plate springs 31 are deflected in the retreating direction against elastic forces with the main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c as supporting points. In this state, when a hand is released from the operating portion 35, the engagement member 30 is urged by the elastic forces of the respective plate springs 31 in a direction indicated by the dotted arrow (advancing direction), and the state returns to the state illustrated in FIG. 6.

As described above, each of the plate springs 31 is sandwiched at two points. Therefore, deformation in the advancing direction and the retreating direction and variation, which may occur during the molding of the plate springs 31, can be corrected. Further, the two points being the main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c serve as the supporting points. Thus, reaction forces against the respective supporting points, which are generated by the elastic forces of the plate springs 31, can be dispersed. Further, the elastic forces of the plate springs 31 generated in the advancing direction can be adjusted by distances from the engagement member 30 to the main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c. The elastic forces of the plate springs 31 can be reduced by increasing the distances.

Next, a function of the engagement member when the suction grille is opened and closed is described with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 11.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view for illustrating a positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel when the suction grille of FIG. 3 is raised up to the vicinity of the decorative panel. FIG. 9 is a sectional view for illustrating the positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel immediately before the suction grille of FIG. 8 is closed. FIG. 10 is a sectional view for illustrating a locking state of the engagement member and the decorative panel when the suction grille of FIG. 9 is closed. FIG. 11 is a sectional view for illustrating the positional relationship between the engagement member and the decorative panel when the engagement member of FIG. 10 is retreated.

The protruding piece 13 a protruding horizontally toward the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10 is formed on a side wall 13 c of the decorative panel 13, which is located at a position opposed to the engagement member 30. The protruding piece 13 a has a length equal to a width of the engagement member 30, and an inclined surface 13 b in parallel with inclined surfaces 33 a of the guide portions 33 of the engagement member 30 is formed at a distal end of the protruding piece 13 a. The protruding piece 13 a is formed on the decorative panel 13. With this configuration, a protruding portion can be eliminated from the suction panel 14 which is operated by a user, thereby being capable of securing the safety.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the suction panel 14 is raised up to the vicinity of the decorative panel 13, the engagement member 30 is located below the protruding piece 13 a of the decorative panel 13. When the suction panel 14 is further raised up, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the inclined surfaces 33 a of the guide portions 33 of the engagement member 30 are brought into contact with the inclined surface 13 b of the protruding piece 13 a. When the engagement member 30 is raised up under the state in which the inclined surfaces 33 a of the guide portions 33 are held in contact with the inclined surface 13 b of the protruding piece 13 a, the guide portions 33 of the engagement member 30 are guided to the inclined surface 13 b of the protruding piece 13 a. At this time, the engagement member 30 is retreated through the sliding portions 36 in a direction indicated by the solid arrow in a portion between the washer 43 of the stepped screw 42 and the support base 40.

In this case, the plate springs 31 provided at the both ends of the engagement member 30 are deflected in the retreating direction against the elastic forces with the main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c as the supporting points. In this state, when the suction panel 14 is pushed into the decorative panel 13, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the engagement member 30 advances in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow by the elastic forces of the respective plate springs 31, and the engagement portion 32 of the engagement member 30 is locked to the protruding piece 13 a of the decorative panel 13. Through the locking of the engagement member 30, the suction panel 14 closes the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10.

Meanwhile, when the suction panel 14 closing the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10 is opened, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the operating portion 35 of the engagement member 30 is manually pulled in the direction indicated by the solid arrow. With this operation, the engagement portion 32 of the engagement member 30 is separated from the protruding piece 13 a of the decorative panel 13 so that the locking state is released. Through the releasing, the suction panel 14 opens the opening of the indoor-unit main body 10 with the support shaft 20 as a supporting point.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c formed on the suction panel 14 by molding serve as the supporting points. With this configuration, a load applied when the function of the plate spring 31 is exhibited can be dispersed. Therefore, the durability of the plate spring 31 formed by molding of a resin material can be enhanced.

The main rib 15 b and the auxiliary rib 15 c formed on the suction panel 14 by molding are arranged in an opposing direction. With this configuration, the plate spring 31 can be mounted under a state in which the variation in shape of the plate spring 31 is corrected, thereby being capable of absorbing backlash of the plate spring 31.

The protruding piece 13 a is formed on the decorative panel 13. With this configuration, the protruding portion can be eliminated from the suction panel 14 which is operated by a user, thereby being capable of securing the safety.

The inclined surfaces 33 a are formed on the guide portions 33 of the engagement member 30, and the inclined surface 13 b, which is parallel to the inclined surfaces 33 a, is formed at the distal end of the protruding piece 13 a protruding from the decorative panel 13. With this configuration, even when the position of the engagement member 30 installed on the suction panel 14 is displaced in some degree, with the inclination of the guide portions 33, the engagement member 30 can be led to a predetermined position.

In the embodiment, a surface of the operating portion 35 of the engagement member 30 is formed as a planar surface. However, as illustrated in FIG. 12, a lower end portion of the operating portion 35 may be protruded toward the engagement portion 32. FIG. 12 is a sectional view for illustrating a modification example of the engagement member of the embodiment.

As described above, the operating portion 35 of the engagement member 30 includes a finger-hooking protruding portion 35 a protruding from the lower end portion of the operating portion 35 toward the engagement portion 32. With the finger-hooking protruding portion 35 a, a finger is easily hooked when the operating portion 35 is moved in the retreating direction, thereby being capable of securing the operability.

Further, in the embodiment, the engagement members 30 are provided at portions of the suction panel 14 on the air inlet 15 side, specifically, on the outer end portion of the air inlet 15 in the transverse direction. However, the engagement members 30 may be installed at positions illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a perspective view for illustrating the suction grille of the indoor unit in a modification example of the installation position of the engagement member of the embodiment.

That is, the engagement members 30 may be provided at portions of the suction panel 14 on the air inlet 15 side, specifically, both end portions of the air inlet 15 in the longitudinal direction, respectively. The installation positions of the engagement members 30 can be determined in consideration of the size of the decorative panel 13 and the operability.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10 indoor-unit main body 11 heat exchanger 12 fan 13 decorative     panel 13 a protruding piece 13 b inclined surface 13 c side wall 14     suction panel 15 air inlet 15 a grill 15 b main rib 15 c auxiliary     rib 15 d grill 16 air inlet 17 air outlet 17 a air-direction vane 18     a, 18 b air filter 19 air passage 20 support shaft 30 engagement     member 31 plate spring 32 engagement portion 33 guide portion 33 a     inclined surface 34 fitting groove 35 operating portion 35 a     finger-hooking protruding portion 36 sliding portion 37 elongated     hole 40 support base 41 screw hole 42 stepped screw 43 washer 100     indoor unit 200 ceiling board 

1. An indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, the indoor unit comprising: an indoor-unit main body including a heat exchanger and a fan and having an opening formed in a lower surface of the indoor-unit main body; a decorative panel configured to cover a peripheral edge portion of the opening of the indoor-unit main body; a suction panel configured to cover an opening of the indoor-unit main body in an openable manner, the indoor unit main body being formed by the decorative panel, and having an air inlet communicating with the opening; a protruding piece protruding horizontally from the decorative panel toward the opening of the indoor-unit main body; an engagement member provided on a back surface of the suction panel at a position of being opposed to the protruding piece to be slidable with respect to the protruding piece in a front-and-back direction of the indoor unit, the engagement member being configured to be guided by the protruding piece of the decorative panel to be locked to the protruding piece; plate springs, provided at both ends in directions orthogonal to a sliding direction of the engagement member, the plate springs extending in the directions orthogonal to the sliding direction and opposite to each other; and at least two spring support portions, formed on the suction panel, and configured to sandwich both end surfaces of each of the plate springs, the two spring support portions being provided at different positions of the engagement member, wherein, each of the plate springs is configured to, when the engagement member slides in a retreating direction of the engagement member by the protruding piece, urge the engagement member toward the protruding piece with the at least two spring support portions serving as supporting points.
 2. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises: an operating portion configured to cause the engagement member to slide in the retreating direction to release the engagement of the engagement member to the protruding piece; and a finger-hooking protruding portion formed on the operating portion.
 3. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the suction panel is formed into a quadrangular shape, and one side of the quadrangular shape is supported in a turnable manner by a support shaft provided to the decorative panel, and wherein the engagement member is provided on a side of the suction panel, which is opposite to the one side of the suction panel supported by the support shaft.
 4. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises engagement members provided respectively on sides of both ends of the suction panel extending to be orthogonal to the one side of the suction panel which is supported by the support shaft.
 5. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the engagement member comprises a guide portion having an inclined surface inclined from a distal end portion of the engagement member which is opposed to the protruding piece to a proximal end portion side of the engagement member, and wherein a distal end portion of the protruding piece of the decorative panel comprises an inclined surface in parallel with the inclined surface of the guide portion. 